If you are a senior citizen who qualifies for SSI (Supplemental Security Income) or if a child in your home qualifies for the National School Lunch Program, you may be eligible for very affordable broadband service.

Now that Altice, the French communications conglomerate, has taken over Suddenlink, the company is introducing Economy Internet, a new low-income internet plan in all 16 of the states it serves. Economy Internet costs a bit more than Suddenlink’s former $9.95 per month plan, but it also gives you more. Here is what you get:

$14.95 per month (with no annual contract)

Broadband speeds of up to 30 Mbps downstream

In-home wi-fi at no extra cost

A free modem

No data caps

Suddenlink also participates in EveryoneOn.org’s flagship program that provides affordable desktop, laptop, and tablet devices to students and families that qualify for the National School Lunch Program or SSI. (More about that later in this article.)

Are you eligible? Here’s how to qualify.

Do you qualify for Suddenlink’s high-speed, low-income plan? There are two very simple ways to qualify, and a three quirky ways you can be disqualified. We’ll explain both sides of the qualification equation.

The first way to qualify: If any child in your household is eligible for the National School Lunch Program and if you live in an area served by Suddenlink, you may be able to sign up for high-speed broadband internet service in your home for just $14.95 per month.

The second way to qualify: If you are a senior citizen who qualifies for Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you are eligible for high-speed broadband service for just $14.95 per month.

Please note that the eligibility requirements say at least one child in your household must be eligible for the National School Lunch Program, not that they must currently participate in it. In other words, don’t be scared off if your child doesn’t participate. You may still be eligible.

3 quirky ways you could be ineligible for $14.95 per month high-speed internet

Like we said, there are three quirky things that could make you ineligible for Suddenlink’s $14.95 per month Economy Internet program. Make sure you understand what they are.

Quirk #1: No children in your home? Sorry, but you’re not eligible. No children in your home who qualify for the National School Lunch Program? Sorry, you’re not eligible, either. No senior citizens in your home who qualifies for SSI? You’re also out of luck as far as Economy Internet is concerned.

Quirk #2: If you’ve had Suddenlink service within the last 90 days, you’re not eligible for Economy Internet. If you’re a current Suddenlink customer, you can become eligible by canceling your service and then waiting until 90 days is up. If you’re a former customer who canceled service within the last 90 days, you, too, need to wait until your service has been inactive for a full 90 days before reapplying.

Quirk #3: You are not eligible for this special low-priced program if you have any outstanding Suddenlink bills or any unreturned Suddenlink equipment. The only solution is to pay off the balance on your overdue account or take back any Suddenlink equipment you failed to return. Solve those problems and you’ll immediately become eligible.

Suddenlink will put you on their $14.95 per month high-speed internet plan for up to two years. And you’ll continue to receive this special price as long as at least one child in your home is eligible for the National School Lunch Program. Or as long as your a senior citizen who qualifies for SSI.

Is that cool or what?

How to Apply for Suddenlink’s Economy Internet Plan

You can enroll in Suddenlink’s Ecomomy Internet plan online or by phone from the comfort of your own home. Here’s all the contact info you need to get started.

Suddenlink profile

There seems to be a little confusion regarding Suddenlink’s size and rank in the telecommunications world.

For example, Wikipedia says, “Suddenlink Communications, formerly Cebridge Connections, is the 9th largest provider of cable broadband services (based on coverage area) in the United States with coverage available to approximately 5.7 million subscribers.”

But the company’s website days, “Suddenlink is the seventh largest cable broadband company in the United States, supporting the information, communication and entertainment demands of approximately 1.4 million residential customers and thousands of commercial customers in Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and elsewhere. Suddenlink simplifies its customers’ lives through one call for support, one connection, and one bill for TV, Internet, phone, and other services.”

No matter whether the company is the 7th largest or 9th largest is really immaterial to the many millions of Americans who desperately need low-cost, high-speed internet service. To anyone living in the company’s service area, Suddenlink is number one.

But let’s clear up what the meaning of “elsewhere” in Suddenlink’s description of itself. Suddenlink now offers cable television and high-speed internet in 16 states — Arkansas, Arizona, California, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Cities in which Suddenlink offers Low-Income Internet

Cable companies constantly buy, sell and exchange municipal franchises, and bid against each other for new and existing municipal franchises. In other words, the following information was correct as of its publication date.

Has Suddenlink added to the list of cities it serves? Has it left other cities? We recommend double checking to make sure you’re working with the latest, most accurate information.

BroadbandNow.com, one of the major websites the high speed internet industry, was the source of the following information:

Well to name a few : Access from AT&T; Internet Essentials ; Cox Low-Income Internet ; Internet Basics and Mediacom Low-Income Internet. They all come with there own set of bells and whistle . One offers this and another offers that. I have yet to find one that offers to someone on SSI under the age of 62 but they are on government assistance with no kids at home. Just a family of 1. Thank You

I read all about Suddenlink but sad to say I can not get it. I am on SSI and I get government help. I am disabled as well but I am not over 65 and I don’t have kids at home. So why do you not help people like me? Thanks

Hey, it’s not us, Belinda. Each of the low-income internet service providers operates in widely different geographic regions. If Suddenlink isn’t available in your area, check out all the other low-income internet providers to find one that IS available in your area. Here’s where you can find all those plans:

The contact info you need can be found in the article above, Cheriea. But before you enroll, you might want to take a look at all the low-income internet plans to make sure you find the one that fits your needs best. Here’s where you can find ALL those programs:

My name is La’Sharia Silas,I have 2 children Aysha is 14 years old and Karsein is 2 years old. Aysha attends Greenwood Middle School located at 1200 Garrard Avenue in Greenwood, Mississippi and she participates in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program at no charge. please enroll us in your $14.99 internet.

We can’t enroll you because this is an independent informational website that is NOT affiliated with any of the low-income internet service providers. You need to enroll directly with one of those companies, NOT us.

Here’s where you can find a complete list of all those low-income internet plans. Check them all out to figure out which one fits your needs best:

They say you have to Qualify for SSI, what bout SSDI, or even on Social Security. Some people get less SS then people on SSI. They are going to have a real problem with this. They better regroup their system for qualifying or they will have a real mess, with people who are poorer than the people they are giving service to.. Everybody who is on SSI gets 743.00 from the government. Each state also helps by adding a amount to that. Each state is different on the amount that they add. some may not add any. Where I live the state ads 48.00 making a total of 791.00 per month. I get 825.00 SSDI per month for I am blind & will never work again @ 60 yrs old, where SSI people are a a 5 yr,, o back to work type program, otherwise they are automatically required to follow their steps to switch. Then when they reach 62, they have to o on their SSI. Basically SSDI is for the people that can’t get SSDI for their disability was rejected by the SS admin.. No matter what both are switched to SS @ age 62. So Altice is going about their discount program completely wrong, it will never work. Or is that their real intention??

I’m on section 8 housing. I’ve been on for over 10 years. My monthly income is $760.00 per month, Way below poverty level! At the moment I am with MediaCom and my bill runs $123-$130.00 per month. I have ask them if they could help me in lowering my bill but they ” Very Rudely said that I had to finish out my contract, which I believe ends in October of this year. My total monthly bills are Rent, Phone, Car Insurance “Bare Minimum” Electricity, Water & Garbage which comes between $455.00 – $526.00 pet Month Leaving me approximately $245.00- $260.00 left each month, subtract my perception cost of $43.00- $50.00 leaves around $200.00- $210.00 per month for gas, groceries, toiletries, cleaning supplies etc. Which I never have enough for all of that or even half of what I need. My clothes are coming apart at the seems, I’ve glued my shoes back together 3 times in the past 2 1/2 years. The only pleasure/ entertainment I have is my TV / Internet. I see so many ads for free cable and internet for low income people all it does is take me to websites trying to sell me things. My credit is horrible, and one thing I made a mistake of doing is turniThr cable on for my nephew in my name with Cox Cable and he left a bill which is now on my credit report and he keeps saying he will pay it but never has. Please help me in finding something for a more reasonable price. The irony of it all is that my brother died in 2012 and my sister and I are the only heirs and all of his money is in her bank and she refuses to give me my half, I have tried to find pro bono lawyers legal aid law clinics and I just keep getting the runaround and sent to another person Louisiana says Florida has to refer me Florida says I have to go through Louisiana because that’s where he lived. I don’t understand why they say low income people can get help with legal matters cable TV utilities and even cars etc.. then when you try to apply for these all you get is advertisements and so much red tape that most people just give up trying! After 5 years of letters, emails , applications and explaining everything to every person I talk to I feel that there is no hope of my getting what’s rightfully mine from my Brother’s estate and just because I don’t have the money to fight for it and the emotional pain is undescribable, And senseless. There are people worse off than me that I am sure have committed suicide because of this sort of thing, I will stop venting now, I thank you for anything you can do to help me!! I have already gone into a depression over this and it seems that it just keeps getting worse! Don’t know where to turn next?

In the words of Bill Clinton, we feel your pain, Constance. We want you to hang in there and persevere and come out on top of this situation.

As you have discovered, there are no free cable or internet plans. However, there are a number of low-income plans available and we’re confident that you’ll find one or more that work for you. Here’s where you can find them:

We’d like you to pay particular attention to two of those plans — PCs for People and 4GCommunity. They might be great options for you if they’re available in your area.

Next, take a look at an article we just posted a few days ago. Amazon is now offering a great deal on a streaming TV package. If you can combine it with one of the internet plans mentioned above, you’d have internet and TV. Here’s a link to that article:

One more thing: Do you have a free government cell phone? If not, you should look into it, because it could save you a lot of money. Here’s a link to our other website, FreeGovernmentCellPhones.net, which has all the information you need.

All the info you need is in the above article, Joedy. But you should check out all the low-income internet plans that are available before you choose a service provider. You may find one that offers a better deal in your area:

No one will contact you as a result of leaving a comment here at CheapInternet.com, Asatta. We are an independent informational website, not one of the low-income internet service providers we write about. You can get all the info you need about the various programs at this link:

Unfortunately I do not have children at home. Mine are grown. I am a 68 year old woman that was Diable in 1998 and now is SS. Which is very low, $1186.00 a month. Right now I have no Cable or Internet. Food, Meds and a place to live are more important! I just had April 25, a total right knee replacement, and I only have Medicare and my prescription ins. I also have Xtra Help from government to get help pay for my prescriptions and help paying my monthly prescriptions Ins, I was working on the paperwork to apply for Medicaid, but my knee surgery came first. I’m in my condo all the time unless someone takes me out. I really could use Internet and cable at home. Could u help me in any way? Thank you, Camille Rockett

Senior low income (ssi) internet from your cable provider and sling tv is 20.00 month. Also look at that dude on YouTube, he show you how to coupon and really save a lot of money and get things free. You have to be creative!!!!

This is truly an awesome program the thing is I cant understand why in Arkansas every city seems to have access except mine which is Newark is there a way you could change this?? There are alot of kids that are in low-income families that could really benefit from having easy access to the internet. Aside from this program I think if our town had suddenlink as a choice for cable and internet providers, I would be willing to bet suddenlink would grow in new customers. Thank you..

SUDDENLINK IT COVER MORRILTON. I PUT IN MY ZIP CODE AND ITS TELLING ME ITS AT&T IS THE SERVICE I CAN GET THERE FOR LOW INCOME.I CALL ATT THEY SAID I CANT GET ANY SERVICE. HELP ME. I TRY ALL YOU TOLD ME TO TRY BUT CANT SEEM TO FIND ONE. IM A LOW IMCOME

I have been on Disability for about one and half years, I need low cable TV and Internet access. I live in Comanche, Tx 76442. Is there any thing to Help Me. I am almost 63 yrs . Do I qualify? I have no children, at this home.

Sorry, PJ, but disability alone will not qualify you for any of the low-income programs. However, there are a couple options that might work IF they are available in your area. Check out PCs for People and 4GCommunity at this link:

Seeing as I make less than 20k a year and have custody of my nephew who is on the lunch program and still have to pay $116 a month this program seems kinda dirty. So because I have paid my bill on time every month (struggled but paid) I would have to turn off my service for 3 months to qualify, that’s some bs.

Yeah, Amanda, we think that’s a huge flaw in the system. However, depending on where you live, you may have some options. Check out the other plans at the following link. Pay particular attention to PCs for People and 4GCommunity. The former has higher income limits and the latter has no income limits. We just hope you live in a place where they are available:

I need your service. I am a disabled student(injured from a car accident that caused a nerve compression problem in back.) I am in school training for a different career path because I can no longer do previous work.

There are a number of low-income internet plans available, Bernice. Make sure you check them all out, but pay particular attention to PCs for People and 4GCommunity. With a little luck, they’ll be available in your area:

We’d suggest that you take a look at two different plans, Andy. With a little luck they will be available where you live (none of the plans are available everywhere). Look up PCs for People and 4GCommunity at this link:

I am trying to figure out how to get help with internet. I have a 9 and 11 year old granddaughters that I am guardian of. I have had them for 5 years and have struggled the whole time. This year there will be no Christmas at our house as bills are behind.

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